Islamic State said it carried out the bomb attack on the Syrian coastal city of Tartous that Syrian state media said killed two security officers. Islamic State said in an online statement claiming the attack that two of its members detonated car bombs. It did not say whether they were suicide attackers or provide any further details.

The Syrian Observatory for Human rights has documented since the Turkish-backed and begun Euphrates Shield campaign in northern Syria '277 civilians killed' from the 24th of August 2016 (Turkey's intervention) until today the first of January 2017. The civilian victims include 65 children and 38 women; in addition, dozens of others wounded by Turkish airstrikes and bombardment, northern Aleppo, Syria.